Fakiru Week 2012
by Diabolical Kitsutora
Summary: A compilation of the Fakiru week prompts back in September 2012. The prompts are in order as follows: Red, Silence, Dreams, Gift, Light, Play, Forever. All center around Ahiru and Fakir.
1. RED

When Fakir was younger, he hated the color red. It was the color of blood and anger, and he disliked both. Especially after the loss of his parents. All he could remember from that night were vague snapshots: the mixture of black feathers and crimson blood, and he remembered crying, his tears washing the red specs from his cheeks, but landing on his shirt and staining it. He also remembered Charon burned that shirt and after that, he locked away the memories. Red had always been a trigger for his anger afterwards, and that was partly why he had so disliked Ahiru in the beginning.

Years later though, when Fakir would figure out the true significance of Mytho's role, and his appearance in the town; after he had fought and opposed the only figure in the story truly trying to help the Prince; once he faced his fears and his anger; red was no longer a color to hate. It was now a color that flooded his cheeks whenever he thought about _her_, whenever he saw her, and yes, as well as the times she accidentally transformed back into a girl in front of him. Red was the color of her hair, and the hue painting her cheeks. It was the soft and tame tint of red of her lips and he couldn't think of a color that suited her more.


	2. SILENCE

For a Noble's daughter, Ahiru's world was rather quiet. She was home schooled, so she wasn't able to easily make friends, and her family were slightly lacking in the affection department. However, the biggest contribution to the silence was her own voice. When the red-headed girl was but two, her Uncle visited, and while he was there he had become utterly hammered. While inebriated, he started poking, prodding, and scaring the horses that her father had owned. Being a curious little girl, she had gone to search out the reason for the horses fearing cries.

The moment she stepped inside the stable, her Uncle had unlatched the stable doors and let loose the frightened horses. A foal; no more than a few months- reared and kicked Ahiru in the chest, sending her flying backwards.

Three days later, the girl awoke to the news that the blow had paralyzed her vocal chords. She was now no more than eight years old, and no one had even bothered talking to her since then. She could read and write, but her family did not have the patience to read about her wants or needs. Even people in town, on the occasional visits she went into town, found it too troublesome to converse with her. It was soon that she feared she would be forever locked within a silent realm while everyone else around her was able to sing, and laugh, and enjoy the wonders of sound.

That was around the time her parents hired a new servant. The boy couldn't have been any more than a few years her senior, but you would never guess by the serious forest eyes he possessed. Fakir, as she later learned was his name, was a stoic young boy, who was just about as silent as Ahiru herself was. She often found that he would observe her, and for a while, it gave her hope that he might try to communicate with her.

After a month, she gave up hope.

After a month, he approached her, with his hand extended, and somehow, she could read the silent words in his expression.

_I will teach you to speak without words._

It was then that he taught her the art of language through ballet. He led her slowly through the warm-ups, practiced patience as he taught her the movements, and guided her gently through the routines. He taught her with as little words as possible; showed her to express herself through dance in a way which words could never compare.

The more Ahiru learned of ballet, the more she realized; she didn't need her voice to speak, silence wasn't so bad as long as Fakir was there, communicating with her through silent dance.


	3. DREAMS

A pained sigh fell from frowning lips; the vibrant blue sky reminded him of eyes full of sapphires, the sun, burning brightly in the sky, made him think of golden feathers. Later on in the evening, the red of the setting sun would remind him of fiery hair and blushing cheeks. These were characteristics of a dream long lost; of a beautiful, courageous, and wonderful girl, filled to the brim with hope. He himself had suggested the end to their story, to the story a Prince and a Raven had escaped from, and while he believed in his words, he had not understood the repercussions of the words both of them believed in.

Those words was their downfall; the reason for their separation. Even if they could live close together, even if they had developed their own way of communicating, it was not what they had wished. Dreams intertwined could not come to fruition, not when one party was a duck, and the other a human, and dreams of the individuals were further off still. After all, a duck could not become a ballerina, and the boy could do nothing more than try to write her back into a human body.

Years passed, rough drafts were crumpled and discarded, notes were scribbled out, phrases were rewritten, and the final product was changed numerous times, and yet, the dream still did not take form. Still more years passed, and the duck-once-girl grew older, weaker, and more fragile, and sooner than he had anticipated, his companion, his best friend, his only love, passed away.

Night had fallen when the thought of her death crossed his mind, and he could not help but bite back a sob for all the lost dreams.

_I'm sorry, Ahiru, I failed to make your dream come true. I failed to make _our_ dreams come true._

It was all the young writer, Fakir, could do to go on and continue to try and fulfill a dream that could no longer be taken hold of.


	4. GIFT

It was around noon on sunny days that she would waddle into the market place in Kinkan town. Her head would swivel this way and that, looking at all the different stalls with their wares, gazing into windows filled with trinkets, and smelling the delectable scents that drifted on the wind. A year and a half had passed since the story ended, and out of boredom while Fakir was at school, Ahiru had made these trips, to see how life carried on after the story. Thus, the venders were used to her presence.

Sapphire eyes smiled up as the people ran about their days, the fruit vender panicking because her fruit delivery was late, a show owner yelling at his son for not properly cleaning, and young women giggling and chatting, worrying about the future. Maybe it was because she was a duck, or perhaps it was something else, but Ahiru didn't understand the worry people held for the past and the future. She had learned while she was a human that you couldn't change what you've done, and the future… that was only something one influenced.

Today was rainy, but tomorrow the sun will dry the ground.

She smiles sadly as she watches the rain fall; chances were that all traces of that days magical shower would be gone early the next day. Of course, the flora would be thriving, and little children would play in the puddles while they could, but none of that matched the splendor of the falling rain.

There was something beautiful, unique, _majestic_ about the here and now; the drops that spattered the ground in that second, and not the second before. It made her think of how so many people lived in the future, and how so many dwelled on the past. None of them seemed to even see the present, to feel the gift it brought or the value in which it gave their lives.

It was different for her though. She had no vision for the future, (especially when she had been a duck,) and the past could not be changed. So she lived for the moment, planning only for the day ahead; and while she knew there would be appointments to honor, scheduled hours to work, and plans with friends made, her life was still firmly rooted in the present.

A small, secretive smile curled her lips. Other people might take now for granted, but she did not have to follow their path. Jumping to her feet, she ran straight to the door, foregoing her shows as she ran out into the rain. Ahiru knew; she may regret doing this later, or it may cause her to get sick in the future, but none of that mattered; after all, the past and the future were not her concerns, only the present mattered. Besides, Fakir had told her many times, 'why call it the present if it wasn't a precious gift to be appreciated in the moment?'

Fakir was right, the present _was_ a precious gift, a precious gift he himself had given to her, and she would not waste such a splendid opportunity.


	5. LIGHT

Forest green eyes looked down and to the left, the expression behind the usual stoic gaze annoyed. Next to him, his childhood friend and girlfriend quivered and gulped, anxious and fearful of the house they were about to walk through.

"Really, moron, if you're so afraid, why do you even want to do this?"

"I'm not a moron, and I'm not afraid! I'm just… a little nervous…" Sapphire eyes had lit up in indignation, but then quickly faded, a nervous energy filling their pools of ocean.

Sighing, he didn't answer to her words.

It was pointless, really. Their school put together a haunted house every year, a project to bring the students together or something. Ahiru and himself usually didn't go because she was too afraid, but this year… this year she had a plan. She was going to bring a flashlight!

"Whatever, just don't blame me when that light of yours doesn't do you a bit of good." He looked up at that moment, a small smirk on his lips.

It was probably a little evil for him to do so, but he had made sure her flashlights batteries were little more than husks of energy. They would last no more than a few minutes, at the most.

Breathing in rather heavily, the red-head at his side steeled her nerves, declaring, "alright, let's go inside," marching right in before her resolve could crumble.

To say the least, Fakir was impressed with Ahiru; she had been able to stop herself from screaming as mummies and zombies jumped out at her, and only paled considerably when an axe murderer came chasing after them. However, as he expected, panic began to bubble beneath her skin once the light began to flicker…

WAAHHHH!

Ear splitting screams sounded from deep within the halls of the haunted house, scaring the other visitors more than the actual attractions. A few moments later, those that waited at the exit to hand out congratulatory candy could hear two pairs of feet slamming against the tiled floors. Two figures eventually emerged, foregoing the candy and running straight under a street lamp that was shining brightly and beautifully on the street corner.

"That was scary!" Ahiru cried, bent over, her hands on her knees, panting as if she had just run a marathon and not just gone through a haunted house.

Stopping next to her, Fakir stayed relatively composed, as he laughed breathlessly. "Moron, I told you."

Breathing slowing down, her posture now more composed, she glared at her boyfriend, "why weren't you scared? We were in the dark being chased!"

Smiling warmly, the lamps light reflected in his green depths as he cupped Ahiru's flushed cheeks, "idiot, I've never been in the dark, not when my light is always by my side."

The glare slipping from her eyes, her expression melted, and she couldn't help the warm smile that made her entire being glow in happiness. "Well if you look at it that way… I guess there was no reason to be afraid."


	6. PLAY

A mirthful giggle left a smiling mouth, sapphire eyes glimmering above them. It was the first time ever that either had left the safety of the little town they had lived in, and she was enjoying each and every second. The warm summer wind grasped at her hair, causing it to flutter and wave in the breeze. Twirling around, her red hair followed suit, curling around her body before the wind caught hold of it again.

A man, taller than the figure with the sapphire eyes, stood behind her, a gentle expression upon his face. The wind too, played with his hair, making it dance about in his forest green eyes. Stepping forward, he placed a calloused hand on the young woman's shoulder, and she turned in response, a beautiful, warm, and radiant smile lighting up her face.

The pair gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, merely drinking in the presence of the other. Then, his hands slid down her shoulders and he stepped away. In a field of dancing flowers, the two began a play of their usually passionate ballet. Both lost themselves in the movements as he led her to her feet; holding her hand high above her head as she spun around, laughing happily.

For what seemed like forever, the two danced; swirling and spinning, stepping right and left, leaning back, and coming close together. Their hearts beat as one, their breathes intermingled, and their desire to play were one in the same as they danced freely, structure and organization long forgotten. In those moments, in those days they were away from home, nothing else mattered. This was their time to play.


	7. FOREVER

Their meeting began when they were but toddlers; two naïve children barely out of their swaddling clothes. The two played together, though he was not nice to her, and she continued to follow him, though she thought he was a big meanie head. The mother's of the children could not contain their mirth; both realizing their children would have interesting futures ahead of them.

As they got older, they went to school together, went to daycare together, and even went to after school classes together. Though neither would admit it, they had instilled a love for dancing in each other, a love that was borne from their parents, who danced before them.

When they were eight, the boy, Fakir, began to think girls were gross, and that he would never hang out with one. At eight, was when Ahiru, the girl, began wondering if that meant she wasn't a girl anymore.

Four years later, at the age of twelve, Fakir began to renege on his thoughts that girls were gross, especially when Ahiru began… developing. His attraction to her was purely innocent of course, besides, they had been friends since he could remember.

High school came about two years later at the age of fourteen, and Ahiru had never been more self-conscious. Fakir had been acting kind of strange towards her for the last two years, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was something wrong with her. Even while they danced ballet together, there was always an odd sort of distance between them, like he was afraid she would find out some great secret he was hiding.

During their graduation pictures after the ceremony, Fakir couldn't even look Ahiru in the eyes. Looking away, he told her that he hoped they would stay in the same dance company they had joined when they turned fifteen.

His hope having come true, a year later, Fakir and Ahiru were in the same troop, and partnered together no less. The awkward tension that seemed to have settled between them in high school had dissipated somewhat, and now that Ahiru was accustomed to her grown body, she didn't feel so self-conscious about herself.

The years spent dancing together only strengthened their bond, and eventually, they began to question their true feelings for one another.

What does he see me as?

Could she possibly…?

Slowly, they came together, discovering through their dance the meaning of love and forever. Of course, it took them time still to realize that love and forever could indeed be found in each other.

Twenty-one years after meeting one another, they whispered the words they had held deep within their hearts, expressing their feelings with the softest of breaths. He promised to be by her side, forever and she promised to stay beside him. The moment they completed their vows and shared their first kiss as a married couple, their mother's wept, having prayed for such an outcome all along.

At the age of twenty-five, the two were expecting their first child. The coming event was a miracle, and both vowed that they would pass on to their child what it meant to have forever standing at their side.


End file.
